


Murder City

by itgivesaprettylight



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, Human AU, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-09-16
Packaged: 2017-12-24 03:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itgivesaprettylight/pseuds/itgivesaprettylight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paradise Falls has been ruled by Michael Novak since his fathers disappearance. 8 years of relative peace are shattered by the arrival of the Hunters a group of vigilantes who go from city to city overthrowing the Family in charge. His life is made more complicated by the reappearance of his estranged brother who is back for revenge or attention, Michael isn't sure which. Meanwhile Castiel has made friends with the new boy in town Dean Winchester, Anna is questioning her loyalty to the Family and there's something wrong with Gabriel. </p><p>Eventual Destiel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm English so please excuse any startlingly unamerican words or things in this story.

Michael had been nineteen years old when he'd taken over the family business. He inherited it by default when his father vanished and Michael had been left with siblings to take care of, a small city to run and a father to find. The day his father left him was the day Michael built up his first barrier, desperate to shield himself from any more pain. He'd built up several more as he tried to find out what happened to his father, another when he finally concluded his father was alive but didn't want to be found. He built a new barrier every time one of his siblings asked him where their father was, another dozen when the social services tried to take his siblings away from him to place them in foster care. Michael was young and didn't hold as much authority as his father, but his Family still ran Paradise Falls and he fought hard for his siblings. Eventually the authorities left him alone. He'd never been more alone and he had six siblings and a town to care for. Michael was nineteen and it was his job to put everything back together no matter what the cost.

Michael was twenty when he'd turned his brother over to the police to save his city. In doing so he'd fulfilled his father wishes but that didn't stop his heart breaking despite all the barriers he'd put up. The look on Lucifer's face when he realised Michael had betrayed him haunted Michael and he'd realised barriers weren't good enough: he'd have to detach himself too. The city was in ruin with several smaller gangs beginning to rise up vying for control, a few attempting to take down Michael's family. Michael could understand how his Family would seem an easy target with their boss gone and the young inexperienced heir in charge however he didn't bother quelling the assumptions, just continued letting everyone underestimate him while he consolidated his strength. Then one of the smaller gangs attempted to kidnap Gabriel and Michael's retribution had been swift and terrifying. Michael was twenty when he decided to detach himself completely from his siblings so they wouldn't be harmed int

At twenty one, no one thought of Michael as the young naïve heir any more. He was ruthless and fierce and utterly cold. He was twenty one when he outmaneuvered all opposition and restored the Novak's back to their position of strength. The smaller gangs were scattered and broken and the rest of the town fell into submission and accepted Michael's rule. He tried to rule as fairly as he could but he could never escape the voice in his head that reminded him he wasn't, and would never be, as good as his father. Still the town fell back into a relative peace and Michael allowed himself to feel a little proud. At twenty one he'd outmaneuvered all the opposition and restored the city to the shining oasis of peace and prosperity his father had wanted it to be.

He twenty seven when he'd become complacent. His city had entered a state of peace and his Family ruled completely, unchallenged and unquestioned. During his time as head of the Novak Family several of the smaller gangs had reformed but they all knew their place and they caused little trouble. Michael prided himself in knowing Paradise Falls was one of the few cities in America with crime rates as low as they were, one of the only cities where people could walk safely on the streets at night, one of the only cities where protection meant something. He knew it wasn't perfect but it was close and he'd become complacent in this knowledge. He was paying for that now.

 

* * *

 

A siren wailed, filling the room with noise as another police car shot past the house. Michael sat at the head of the table with his head in his hands and an untouched glass of whiskey at his right elbow. The room was dim, lit only by the lighting on the driveway that filtered in through the window. He'd yet to close the curtains or turn the light on fearing the light would aggravate his headache further. He massaged his temples wearily before glancing at his watch, the face glowing softly in the near darkness. Half past two. Raphael and Gabriel should have been back over two hours ago.

He took a deep steadying breath. Panicking wouldn't solve anything. He'd made his choices tonight and now he'd have to deal with the ramifications and he couldn’t do that while his heart was racing and his mind was wondering just how bullet proof the bullet proof glass in the windows of the house was. He stood and walked over to the window, checking for the fifth time that night that their security was still in place. Scanning their vast grounds as best he could from the ground floor he could see at least five guards covering the visible perimeter and he he felt his heart unclench ever so slightly. No one could get inside the grounds, let alone anywhere near their house and Anna, Balthazar and Cas were safe and sound asleep in the heart of their living quarters. And Gabriel and Raphael were, well they were meant to return at midnight, but he would have been informed if anything had happened to them. He took another deep breath and mentally berated himself for becoming too secure in his and the town's position.

He'd heard reports of 'Hunters', groups of vigilantes who thought that Families should not be allowed to rule who moved from city to town wherever Families or Gangs were powerful. He'd heard they were disorganised, unprofessional and yet they still left a trail of destroyed Families in their wake. He'd listened to the rumours and the reports but paid little heed not even when Raphael had told him quite solemnly that they had destroyed a Family in a neighbouring city. He hadn't even allowed himself to entertain the possibility that they might take on him. He'd thought his city was perfect, that the Hunters couldn't possibly have a quarrel with his Family. He'd thought his position as ruler of Paradise Falls made him safe, untouchable. Instead it had just made him a target.

A dark car slid out of the shadows further down the driveway, jolting Michael out of his reverie. He sighed in relief when it came into the circle of light near the house and he recognised it as Raphael's. He shut the curtains and turned on the lights before sitting back down at the head of the table. He took a gulp of whiskey and it burned his throat, and he coughed like a teenager taking their first sip of alcohol. But he forced it down, letting the fire in his throat bring him back to the present. His worry for the safety of his siblings ebbed away leaving irritation in it's place. He was annoyed both at his siblings for returning almost three hours late and himself for allowing himself to worry about them. He couldn't worry about them, couldn't care about them. Caring got people hurt. Caring was what had nearly gotten Gabriel kidnapped when a rival gang had wanted to get to Michael. If Michael treated his brothers as anything more than chess pieces his rivals would continue to use his brothers against him.

Panic began to overwhelm him and he choked it down with another mouthful of whiskey. He was alone, in his sanctuary, no one could know how worried he'd been. He forced himself to put back on the cold, blank mask he'd become so accustomed to wearing and waited for Raphael and Gabriel to come to him to debrief.

 

* * *

 

It was a full five minutes before Raphael deigned to put in an appearance. When he finally entered the room fury seemed to be radiating from him as he stormed to his seat to Michael's right. Michael stared at him impassively, trying to quell the urge to scream himself hoarse, demanding to know where they had been and why they thought it would be okay to force Michael to break his promise to himself and spend hours worrying that maybe he'd sent his younger brothers to their deaths.

“Gabriel's not back yet.” Raphael pointed out in response to Michael's silent question. There was a sulkiness about him that didn't befit a twenty four year old and Michael almost rolled his eyes. Raphael was so rational and composed and yet that all disintegrated when Gabriel entered the equation. The two were as different as Michael and Lucifer were: Raphael's calm, cold logic, to Gabriel's impulsive warmth and need to do the right thing, and so Michael could understand the friction between them. And yet he wished they would sort out their differences and get along.

“I didn't ask about Gabriel.” Michael replied softly. Raphael eyes flashed but he was saved from answering by the appearance of their younger brother. The first thing Michael noticed about Gabriel was his appearance, clothes rumpled and his hair even more messy than usual. His shirt was torn and there was a cut across his right cheek. Michael grit his teeth at the injury, forcing back the feelings of protectiveness that flooded him. The second thing Michael noticed was the tiredness in Gabriel's eyes, the pallor of his skin beneath the blossoming bruises and blood on his cheek. Gabriel walked over to sit at his place on Michael's right, his movements were slow and uneasy, and lacked any of his usual cockiness or vigour.

“Where were you Gabriel?” Michael snapped. He expected an instant response, something playful and mischievous and just a shade under disrespectful. Instead Gabriel looked down at the table in a manner that was suspiciously deferential.

“Sorry sir,” he murmured after a pause, “We were held up.” Michael stared at Gabriel completely thrown off by Gabriel's behaviour. Gabriel usually absolutely refused to call him sir, a formality Michael insisted on from all his Family members whether they were related to him or not. He'd tolerate Gabriel calling him by his name in private but in meetings he constantly fought to get Gabriel to treat him with the proper respect.

“What happened?” he asked. Michael directed the question at Gabriel who was usually the one to give the explanatory speeches, despite Raphael holding the higher rank. But Gabriel just glanced at Raphael redirecting the question to him. Raphael frowned at Gabriel, a look that conveyed both annoyance and a sliver of worry, but sighed and relayed the evening's events to Michael.

“So you let them escape?” Michael asked at the end of Raphael's summary.

“Technically the police let them escape.” Gabriel quipped lightly but his eyes were tired and it didn't have any of his usual cheek behind it.

“We tried to stop them escaping.” he continued, “And got hurt in the process.” Michael's eyes snapped once again to the cut on Gabriel's cheek. It looked shallow and was relatively clean and precise. Gabriel had had worse and the injury wasn't bad enough to stop him talking but Michael still felt another surge of protectiveness and fury that threatened to make him lose his rationality and judgement.

“So my six best men, and therefore six of the best in the state, were not good enough to stop a little group of hunters?” Michael asked scathingly to distract him from the urge to tell Gabriel to see a medic immediately. The cut wasn't that bad, not as bad as displays of sentiment would be.

“Apparently not.” Gabriel replied softly. He looked at Michael, eyes wide. His pupils were dilated, huge dark voids against a thin ring of amber and if Michael didn't know Gabriel better he'd suspect Gabriel had been taking drugs. A flash of sudden worry coursed through Michael and he stared at his younger brother mind racing with possibilities that started off fairly benign but soon spiraling into visions of Gabriel an addict who would end up dying of a drug overdose in the street. But Gabriel seemed fairly sharp and focused underneath the tiredness and although his brother had a penchant for partying and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol all in one go he somehow didn't seem the type who would take drugs especially before or during a fight.

Michael sighed, looking over at Raphael who was beginning to show signs of tiredness too. It made no sense keeping Gabriel and Raphael here. They both needed rest. The Hunters had caused the death of enough of Michael's men tonight, he needed those that remained to be in good health ready for damage control.

“Fine.” he said, causing surprise to flicker through Gabriel's eyes. “Dismissed. Get some sleep both of you.” Raphael stood immediately, walking out the door without another word. Gabriel was slower to react, standing up with careful, measured movements. Michael watched him from the head of the table, noting the difficulty with which Gabriel seemed to be moving.

“Gabriel?” Michael asked. He hadn't wanted to speak but it was just him and Gabriel and he'd already broken his promise to himself not to act as if he cared about his brothers today. Gabriel never seemed to buy the act anyway, the one person Michael couldn't seem to fool no matter how hard he tried.

“Briel?” Michael asked when Gabriel ignored him the first time. Informality didn't come easily to Michael, he preferred everything to be neat and ordered. But the informality worked where the authoritative voice hadn't and Gabriel looked up at him, eyes questioning as he waited for him to speak.

“Are you okay?” It was hard to keep is voice level, keep the concern from spilling out of him. In breaking his promise today he'd weakened his barriers and he'd need time to build them back up again. Gabriel twisted his mouth in a half smile, wincing when it hurt.

“I'm fine Michael.” he said softly, playfulness beginning to creep back into his voice as he added, “Thanks for caring.” Michael glared at Gabriel and Gabriel's smile increased infinitesimally in return and he left the room leaving Michael to wonder what was going on with his younger brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas' morning gets off to a bad start.

Cas dashed into the living room in search for his English book and found Balthazar curled on the sofa underneath his coat watching breakfast tv. 

“What are you doing?” he demanded as he yanked his English book out from underneath Anna's gossip magazines and transferred it to his bag. Balthazar spared him a quick glance before turning his attention back to the tv without bothering to answer Cas' question. 

“We're going to be late.” Cas complained. 

“I'm not going in.” Balthazar answered, eyes still glued to the tv. “I don't feel well.” Cas looked at the sixteen year old who finally tore his gaze away from the tv to glare defiantly back at Cas. Cas didn't think Balthazar looked particularly ill. He narrowed his eyes at Balthazar assessing him and Balthazar held his gaze. 

“What's going on?” Cas asked eventually, trying to sound patient but well aware that if they wanted to get to school on time they should be leaving now. 

“Nothing. I just don't feel well.” Balthazar replied, “You should get going. You don't want to be late.” he added in a tone that was far too superior for someone who was only a year older than Cas. 

“Balt?” Cas tried but Balt had turned his attention back to the tv and refused to look away from it. Cas sighed but grabbed his bag and left the room, intending to find Anna who still hadn't appeared downstairs. He ran into her in the hall as she shoved her phone in the pocket of her green jacket looking flustered. 

“Inias can't take us to school.” she told him before he could say a word. Cas looked at her pleadingly.

“I know we're going to be late, I can't help that.” Anna snapped, cutting Cas off before Cas could say a word. Cas glared at her, hurt and Anna sighed.

“Sorry.” she said quietly, “It's just I have a test first thing and I'm going to be late for it and Murphy will kill me. Where's Balthazar?” 

“He's not going in today.” Cas replied. Anna rolled her eyes and pushed past him into the living room. 

“Balt I don't need this, not today.” she near yelled as she stormed into the middle of the room to grab the remote from the floor. She turned the tv off and turned to glare at Balthazar who glared back. 

“What's with you?” she demanded furiously.

“I'm ill.” he snarled in return. Cas hesistated at the doorway watching as them argue. He felt awkward as he usually did whenever the two fought and this time his desire for them to stop fighting was only increased by the fact he wanted to get to school on time or as close to on time as possible. And that wasn't likely if the two kept on fighting. 

“Maybe he really is ill?” he suggested hesitantly and instantly regretted it when Anna rounded on Cas. 

“Do you really believe that?” Anna demanded. Cas shrugged trying to remain neutral. Anna sighed apparently irritated at Cas' lack of conviction to either side but she shifted her attention back to Balthazar who was glaring at her mutinously. 

“You're not ill so stop messing around and get ready. We're late as it is.” she commanded in her most authoritative voice, the one she'd copied off of Michael. Usually this was the cue for Cas or Balthazar to do what Anna was asking of them but today Balthazar didn't move. Instead he just intensified his glare. 

“No. I'm not going.” he said determinedly. Anna looked shocked and then she narrowed her eyes furiously. 

“Stop being so selfish, I have a test today and you're going to make me late-” she began

“So go!” Balthazar yelled back, his eyes suspiciously bright, like he was about to cry. Cas fidgeted wondering how to get them to stop fighting without either of them turning on him. 

“Enough both of you.” a new voice commanded and the tone carried enough authority that Balthazar and Anna stopped glaring at each other immediately and all three of them turned abruptly to look at Gabriel who stood in the doorway. Cas stared at his elder brother in surprise. Gabriel, who usually wore a shirt and trousers in a vague deference to Michael's insistence on a smart dress code among the Family, was huddled in a large grey hoody Cas wasn't even aware he owned. Even worse were the dark shadows under his eyes and a cut on his cheek, dark rusty red but vivid against his unusually pale complexion. Gabriel stared impassively at Anna and Balthazar, his mouth a grim line and it was so different from his usual cheerful demeanour that Cas felt a twinge of fear. 

“What's going on?” Gabriel asked a little wearily. Balthazar was too busy staring at Gabriel with wide, scared eyes to answer and Cas didn't think the question was directed at him so he stayed quiet, letting Anna step in.

“Balthazar is insisting he's too ill to go to school. But he's fine.” Anna explained, seeming to gain enough composure to glare at Balthazar although, she stopped quickly when she saw how upset Balthazar looked. Gabriel turned his attention to Balthazar,

“What's wrong?” he asked, concern now evident in his voice. Balthazar shook his head, seemingly still too upset by Gabriel's out of character appearance and behaviour to talk. Gabriel narrowed his eyes slightly.

“You two should go. You don't want to keep Inais waiting.” he told Anna and Cas, without taking his eyes off Balthazar. "Balthazar can skip just this once." Balthazar gave Anna a smug smirk before leaving the room. Anna glared after him before turning back to Gabriel and responding.

“Inais can't take us to school.” she said “He's in hospital.” she added quietly. Something flickered through Gabriel's eyes too quickly for Cas to judge what it was. This new bit of information hit Cas with a jolt and he made a mental note to ask Anna what was wrong with Inais when she wasn't so preoccupied with getting to school.

“You can drive.” Gabriel reminded her softly. Anna just shook her head.

“Car's broken.” Anna replied. "It wouldn't start and Inais said he'd fix it but he hasn't yet." Gabriel sighed. 

“I can give you a lift, I was going into town anyway. Give me a minute.” he too left the room. 

“Murphy is going to kill me.” Anna sighed, fidgiting with the strap of her bag. 

“It's not your fault the car wouldn't start.” Cas pointed out reasonably. "He can't blame you for that." 

“You haven't had Murphy as a teacher have you?” Cas admitted he hadn't.

"You're lucky." Anna replied moodily and they both lapsed into silence. 

“Gabriel was really off. That wasn't just me right?” Anna asked suddenly. 

“He did seem to be acting a little out of character.” Cas admitted hesitantly. He didn't really want to talk about it. Gabriel was the only one of the older three who cared about them; Michael was distant and cold, Raphael only seemed to care about Michael who he idolised, whereas Gabriel was warm and paid attention to them. He was a pain and seemed to love embarrassing them, Balthazar especially, but the thought that there might be something wrong with Gabriel hurt. 

“I hope he's okay.” Anna said quietly. She was silent for a moment or two. Cas wondered if he should attempt to comfort her but before he could even begin to work out how Balthazar came back through the door with his school bag slung over his shoulder.

“Thought you were bunking?” Anna asked waspishly. Balthazar just smiled serenely back.

“I feel better.” 

“You. Were. Never. Ill.” Anna retorted sounding furious. 

“Oh enough already.” Gabriel snapped, entering just behind Balthazar, car keys in hand. He led them back out to the garage and Balthazar smirked at Anna behind Gabriel's back. Cas rolled his eyes. He loved his brother and sister but their constant bickering grew tiresome after a while. Although he knew Balthazar and Anna didn't really mean it, most of the time they argued for fun and or on days like when frustrations were running high all round, it still reminded him uncomfortably of Michael and Lucifer's arguments. 

As they got out to the garage Cas began to suspect Balthazar's miraculous recovery was due, at least in some part, to the fact that Gabriel would be driving them in. Gabriel had bought a Jaguar about a year ago and Balthazar had been admiring the car ever since. Cas couldn't really see what all the fuss was about but Balthazar was completely smitten with it. Unfortunaetly for Balthazar, Gabriel had immediately put a strict set of rules in place regarding the car which essentially boiled down to don't go within five feet of it, so Balthazar had to admire the object of his affection from a distance. 

Cas thought Gabriel may be regretting waiving the rules for this one day when Balthazar (who had slipped into the back seat too awed to carry out the usual argument for shotgun with Anna) began pressing buttons to see what they did and Anna started fiddling with the radio never stopping on a station for more than a few seconds. He sighed as he pulled smoothly out of the garage and grinned at Cas, who was staring at him sympathetically, in the review mirror. 

“Balt if you touch one more button I'll force you to stay at home. And Anna you have five seconds to pick a station or I'll put Justin Beiber on repeat the entire trip.” 

“Like you have a Justin Beiber album.” she retorted but apparently she didn't want to risk it as she settled on a station. 

 

***

The drive wasn't too bad, there was much less traffic than usual and Cas began to think they may be as little as five minutes late. Anna seemed a little less vitriolic and was humming along quietly to the radio as she looked over her notes for her upcoming test. Balthazar kept switching between watching Gabriel like a hawk and staring out the side window contemplatively. Cas closed his eyes and tried not to think about the cut on Gabriel's cheek or how Inais was in hospital. He focused instead on thinking about his school work, about the assignments and homework he had, scheduling his time in his mind. 

"Gabriel!" Anna shouted suddenly and Cas' eyes jerked open in surprise at sudden outburst and the distress in Anna's voice. He was thrown to the side as the car lurched sideways and there was an awful scraping sound. Cas was thrown forward as the car came to an abrupt stop. Cas looked out Balthazar's window. They were half in a hedge. 

Gabriel was breathing deeply, seemingly in shock, Balthazar's eyes were wide as he stared at his elder brother and Anna was looking at Gabriel in disbelief mixed with concern. Cas looked between them trying to work out what happened. A kind of hush had descended over the car which was odd as the radio was still playing. Gabriel appeared to collect himself and he pulled away slowly, angling the car back onto the road. They didn't get very far before he turned abruptly into a quiet road and stopped the car. 

He didn't say a word and neither Balthazar nor Anna questioned it so Cas held his tongue. Gabriel got out, and stood, clutching the top of the car, head bent and breathing ragged. Anna and Balthazar watched him with concerned expressions and Cas began to suspect that driving into the hedge hadn't been an accident as he'd initially assumed but somehow Gabriel's fault. They stayed like that for a minute that felt like forever, Gabriel struggling to control his breathing and his three younger siblings watching him, too shocked to move. Eventually Gabriel straightened. 

“Briel?” Balthazar asked hesitantly. 

“Anna you'll have to drive the rest of the way.” Gabriel said, ignoring Balthazar. Anna seemed surprised.

“Gabriel I -” she began but cut herself off and nodded. She got out the car and switched places with Gabriel. She restarted the car and drove off hesitantly, glancing at Gabriel with a worried expression as though she thought he was about to yell at him to not doing something right. But Gabriel was leaning back in the passenger seat, eyes closed not paying any attention to Anna. He was even paler than before although his breathing seemed to have evened out. 

Anna drove slowly and cautiously but Cas was more about Gabriel than the fact he going to be late. He was also worried about Balthazar who was stared out the side window his face closed off and withdrawn for the rest of the journey. When they eventually got into school twenty minutes into their first period, Anna refused to even attempt to park Gabriel's car and stopped the car on the road outside the enterance. They all got out, including Gabriel. Gabriel had a little more colour in his cheeks but it was the wrong sort of colour and it made him look feverish. 

“I'll call Joshua and ask him if he can pick you three up.” Gabriel said before any of them could speak. 

“Okay.” Anna said quietly and Cas nodded. Balthazar, who was standing a little way behind Anna and Cas staring at the ground, didn't show any sign that he'd heard Gabriel speak at all. 

“You're not going to drive again?” Anna asked, worry lacing her voice. Gabriel gave her a wan smile. 

“It's only a couple of minutes down the road. I'll be careful.” Balthazar scoffed and pushed through Cas and Anna, stalking away across the grass towards the enterance. Gabriel stared after him but didn't say anything. 

“You better go. You're late as it is.” Gabriel said finally. Anna stared at him as though she was trying to work something and then shrugged slightly. 

“I'll see you at home.” she said and too walked away. Cas cast Gabriel a worried look which Gabriel returned with a gentle reassuring smile which somehow managed to do it's job even though Gabriel's eyes were too bright and his cheeks too rosy. Yet he felt some of the worry in the pit of his stomach lift because this was Gabriel and Gabriel had always been there, a solid comforting presence through everything so if Gabriel said he was okay he probably was. 

Anna and Balthazar had already disappeared to their separate lessons by the time Cas entered the school. He hurried down the corridor and decided to take a shortcut outside across the grounds at the back of the school. He was walking past the gym when he saw Alistair. The elder boy was smirking as he backed an unfamiliar boy of around Cas' age up against the wall. Cas groaned because of course Alistair would be picking on someone and of course it would be someone who looked like he was thinking of fighting back. It was just that kind of morning. Still all thoughts of getting to his lesson vanished from his head and he ran towards Alistair hoping to break up the fight before it actually happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael's problems increase and something is wrong with Gabriel.

Michael sat in his office turning the envelope over and over in his hands. He had woken up early having had little more than three hours sleep and found the envelope lying on his desk in his office. He wasn't sure where it had come from; he was certain it hadn't been there the previous night. He'd had Raphael woken and asked him if he knew anything about the envelope. He'd hoped that Raphael, or maybe Gabriel, had forgotten to give Michael the envelope when they'd debriefed and left it on his desk for him to find it the morning. But Raphael had denied all knowledge of it and was sure that Gabriel hadn't had a letter on him either. Which left Michael with a fairly large problem: if the letter wasn't put there by one of his household who had left it there? Opening it may have given him a clue as to who it was from and how the letter had come to sit on his desk, but Michael wanted to open it in private for reasons he couldn't quite fathom. Since Raphael hadn't left his side the letter had remained on his desk.

So he'd spent the morning with Raphael attempting to catalogue and assess the damage the Hunters had done the previous night. The attacks had been co-ordinated and precise suggesting that the Hunters had somehow gathered a rather alarming amount of information on how Michael ran his city. They'd stayed clear of civilian areas and attacked the houses of Family members, warehouses the Family owned and buildings associated with them one by one like some bizarre treasure trail through the city finally culminating with them starting a fire at the City Hall where they'd finally been apprehended by the police. There'd been a small fight outside the city hall, the Hunters harming several police officers before the police had finally caught the offending Hunters and taken them to a jail. Or at least the police had tried. Somehow the Hunters had managed to escape. The Hunters had seemed reluctant to cause harm to any of the general public but then they also hadn't thought twice about cutting Gabriel's cheek, nor hospitalising several Family members.

All in all it had been a bad night and coming up with counter strategies and working on damage control had taken up a considerable chunk of his day. When the work was finally at a point where Michael felt comfortable relinquishing control to Raphael Michael had retreated, remembering the envelope that sat on his desk. Now he sat weighing it in his hands. It was cream coloured, made of a heavy, most likely expensive paper. His name was written on the front in blue ink and the handwriting was elegant and incredibly familiar though he couldn't think where he'd seen it before. There was no address, no stamp, no markings on the envelope at all other than his name. Realising he'd gain little from staring at the front of the envelope he picked up a letter opener and in a smooth practised move sliced the envelope open. 

He reached inside the envelope and pulled out a folder sheet of A5 paper. The sheet of paper was also thick and heavy and felt as expensive as the envelope had. His correspondent had money, or at least wished to create the impression they had. He unfolded the sheet expecting to see writing but instead found a drawing of a snake curled in a circle, the head and tail touching. Michael sighed and threw the paper down on the table as though it had scalded him. 

He should have know better than to assume prison could hold Lucifer for ever. Still for Lucifer to be back now was unfortunate especially after the previous nights catastrophe. He didn't know if he'd be able to cope with having to contend with both the Hunters and his younger brother at the same time. 

Michael picked up the letter again and traced the snake symbol contemplatively. He remembered seeing the symbol for the first time back when it didn't mean anything. It had been just a sketch then, uncertain and hesitant, in the back of one of Lucifer's notebooks. Michael had assumed it was nothing more than a doodle and let it be. The symbol had started cropping up more often among Lucifer's notes in several variations but he still hadn't been suspicious, he'd thought maybe Lucifer was trying to design a tattoo. Back then Lucifer had still been the golden boy, had still been the one who could do no wrong. Their father warned Michael about Lucifer before he'd vanished but Michael hadn't listened. He'd been too secure in his family, even after their father left and his world had turned upside down, he'd still been so sure that Lucifer wasn't hiding anything, that Lucifer wasn't anything less than what he seemed. Complacency was his weakness. It had been back then and it was last night and no doubt one day it would be his downfall. 

The phone rang interrupting Michael's thoughts. He glared at it, tempted for a moment to ignore it, but the few people who had that number were too important to ignore. He picked up the phone.

“Michael I received a call from Gabriel asking me to pick up Anna, Balthazar and Castiel after school.” Joshua's voice came through the receiver the instant he picked up the phone. 

“Fine-” Michael began wondering why Joshua was bothering him with this information. 

“Gabriel didn't sound well. He was at the Roadhouse, apparently on your command. Michael how could you send him out today?” Joshua continued, speaking straight over Michael. Michael bristled, irritated at being ignored. Joshua may be Michael's advisor which allowed him some liberties but Michael did not appreciate being interrupted by anyone. 

“Joshu-” he snapped.

“Don't you 'Joshua' me Michael Novak. Not when your little brother is passed out in the backseat of my car.” 

“Gabriel?” Michael asked, trying to keep his voice neutral while a stab of worry pierced him. Why had he sent Gabriel out? He'd known Gabriel had been exhausted early that morning, possibly even ill. He'd know Gabriel couldn't have had much more than four hours sleep. And yet he'd still sent Gabriel out to talk to Ellen Harvelle. He'd been attempting to show no favouritism, to counteract his dangerous displays of sentiment last night. He'd been trying to show he didn't care.

“Yes, Gabriel. He looks like death warmed up Michael, what on earth were you thinking?” 

“But he's okay?” Michael asked. This time he didn't bother trying to keep the concern out of his voice, Joshua knew how much he loved his brothers, there was no point trying to hide it. 

“I'm not sure Michael.” Joshua's tone had softened. “I'm taking him to the hospital now and they can-”

“No!” Michael exclaimed vehemently. 

“No.” he continued, a little more calmly, “Bring him back here.”

“Michael I think he needs a doctor.” 

“I can bring a Doctor here.” Michael argued, hating how childish and petulant his voice sounded. He realised he was standing, gripping the edge of his desk so tightly his knuckles turned white. 

“But the hospital will have equipment you don't have.” Joshua said. His voice had changed again, it was even softer now, a parent comforting a child while remaining the reasonable one who knew best. Michael hated it, hated how Joshua could make him feel so young and hated that there was a part of him that relished the parental tone, one he'd missed for eight years. But no mater how much sense Joshua's argument made Michael could not let Gabriel go. 

“Michael what happened to your mother was terrible, I understand that, but Gabriel needs a hospital.” Michael shivered, feeling tears spring up into his eyes and he swallowed willing the tears away. 

“Bring him back here Joshua. That's an order.” and he slammed the phone down. He walked over to the window of his office on weak legs, taking deep breaths trying to compose himself. He ran a shaking hand through his hair as he stared at the window and contemplated how badly his world was falling apart. He'd missed his father since the day he left but now he felt that ache more than ever. His father would have known what to do with the Hunters, could have reasoned with them, showed them how crime was low and the people were happy and safe and how their Family wasn't like other families that exploited towns and the people. His father could have reasoned with Lucifer given enough time, and would have known how to help Gabriel. His father could have fixed this. 

Michael slammed a palm against the glass. Their father should be here. Michael knew he wasn't good enough and the city would pay the price. His eyes prickled and he knew he was dangerously close to tears. He knew he had to control himself, to become the fearless, ruthless leader everyone knew him as. Their father wasn't here, he'd left this to Michael and Michael could not fail him. 

Michael knew he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him. He had to pretend the threat he'd received wasn't from the brother he'd practically raised. He had to pretend that the Family member that lay unconscious in the back of Joshua's car wasn't his little brother, the little brother who was Michael's conscience when Michael treated the Family too much like a business, instead of the institute to help and protect people their father had wanted it to be. He had to remain objective and to do that he needed time to reconstruct his barriers that had been damaged last night. 

However he knew he wouldn't be able to build a single barrier back up until he could assure himself Gabriel was okay so he went back to his desk and called Raphael, telling him to find a Doctor, the best possible and to bring him to the house immediately. As usual Raphael didn't question him which Michael was thankful for. If Raphael had asked any questions Michael thought it was likely he'd start crying. He took a deep breath and poured himself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one as he tried to convince himself that Gabriel would be okay. 

***

He wouldn't admit to himself that he was standing at the window watching for Joshua's car but he was unable to tear himself away from the window. As soon as he saw Joshua's car appear on the driveway he rushed downstairs to yank open the front door. Joshua's car was stopped in front of the house and Joshua was lifting Gabriel awkwardly out of the back seat. 

“Do you need help with him?” Michael asked, voice trembling slightly. 

“It's fine Michael. He's all sharp elbows but he's surprisingly light.” Joshua replied straightening up, Gabriel motionless in his arms. Michael held the door open for Joshua and they entered the house. 

“Take him in here.” Michael instructed, pushing open the door to the living room and Joshua obeyed carrying Gabriel into the room laying him gently on the sofa. Michael stood in the doorway, staring at his brother. He watched as Joshua laid the back of his hand on Gabriel's forehead to check his temperature. 

“He's feverish.” Joshua muttered, “Is that doctor of yours here yet?” he demanded. It took a minute for Michael to realise he was being spoken to, another for him to drag his mind away from panicking about Gabriel for long enough to process what Joshua had said. 

“Should be here soon.” Michael answered. He crossed into the room, falling to his knees beside Gabriel. He reached out to touch Gabriel's uninjured cheek; the skin was hot and a little dry. Michael swallowed painfully. He looked up at Joshua who was watching them both with sad eyes. 

“He'll be okay won't he?” Michael asked pleadingly feeling remarkably young and not liking it one bit. 

“I don't know Michael.” Joshua replied. Michael looked back down at Gabriel. He looked young and vulnerable and Michael felt guilt ripple through him. He should have protected Gabriel. 

“We'll fix him.” Michael whispered determinedly, “No matter what it takes. I won't lose anyone else Joshua, I can't lose anyone else.” Michael realised he was babbling a split second before he felt Joshua's hand, heavy and comforting on his shoulder. 

“Would you like me to fetch Raphael?” he asked. Michael shook his head, 

"He's working on getting information on the Hunters." Michael said forcing the words past the lump that had formed in his throat. If he spoke to anyone about Gabriel right now he thought he would breakdown. 

"You'll have to tell him about Gabriel at some point.” Joshua said gently. 

"I know. I just -" Michael took a steadying breath, "Not right now. He's busy and I don't want to worry him-" Michael stuttered to a halt and Joshua squeezed his shoulder.

"I can talk to Raphael if you'd prefer not to." Joshua offered. 

"Thank you." Michael whispered. Joshua's hand left his shoulder and he heard Joshua's footsteps walk across the room. 

“If the doctor arrives I'll send him in.” Joshua said and with that Michael heard the door open, then close and Joshua was gone. Michael ran his trembling fingers through Gabriel's dark blonde hair. His heart clenched as he realised this was the most affectionate he'd been with one of his siblings since their father left. Tears burnt in his eyes again threatening to overspill and this time he let them fall, tracking silently down his cheeks. He'd never felt so out of control. His world was rapidly falling apart around him first the Hunters and then Lucifer and now Gabriel and there was nothing he could do to stop any of it. He bit his lip and tried to pull himself together.

“You'll be okay.” he told Gabriel. He wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure his unconscious brother or himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% happy with this chapter yet so there will probably be some minor changes at some point. Also I suck at chapter summaries. Sorry for previous chapter summaries and in advance for future summaries.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas meets Dean Winchester.

Cas wasn't having a good day. He should have known that the day wasn't going to go well from the very start but he'd held onto the foolish hope that things might improve. It was now lunchtime and things had yet to look up. He was sitting on his own, at a table in the corner. No one came near him, which Cas knew was less because he himself was threatening and more because every person at his school knew his Family's reputation. Usually Cas ate lunch with Samandriel, one of his cousins, or sometimes with Jo and Ash but today Samandriel hadn't appeared in the lunch room and Jo and Ash were sitting together on a table in the middle of the lunch hall with a group of people Cas knew were in his year but didn't know all that well. He could see Anna sitting with her friends and she gave him a worried glance. He just smiled back. He didn't really mind being on his own, it was peaceful in ways that sitting with others often wasn't. 

And today he needed time to think. He was worried. Rumours had been circulating the school all morning about an attack on the town the previous night. He'd yet to hear the full story: people usually stopped talking about it the second they realised he was within earshot and moved away shooting him furtive glances to continue their conversation elsewhere. Usually he didn't mind people avoiding him: he recognised that if he were in their position he'd attempt to avoid all contact with Family members too. But today it annoyed him a little. He was desperate to know what had happened especially as he'd deduced the events of the previous night probably had something to do with Inais' hospital visit and Gabriel's out of character behaviour. 

Gabriel and Inais were the source of a lot of his consternation. He hadn't been able to ask either of his siblings about Inais as he hadn't seen either of them since Gabriel had dropped them off at school; Anna had just been shooting him glances from afar as she gossiped with her friends and he hadn't been able to find Balthazar during the morning break, nor could he see him in the canteen now. Balthazar was another source of worry. He hadn't been right even before he'd seen how pale Gabriel was and the cut on Gabriel's cheek but seeing Gabriel he'd become even worse: distant and moody. Gabriel was Balthazar's favourite brother; Balthazar near worshiped Gabriel even when Gabriel teased him or made Balthazar's life hard just for the fun of it, and so Cas could understand Balthazar being worried. But there must be something else going on. Gabriel had been hurt before, several times and the majority of those times it was worse than a cut on the cheek, and yet Balthazar had never reacted this badly before. He'd been a little clingy maybe and he'd been openly worried, but he'd never shut down in the way he had that morning. 

“Is anyone sitting here?” an unfamiliar voice asked. Cas looked up from the pasta he'd been playing with but barely eaten, to see the green eyed stranger he'd had to rescue from Alistair that morning. Cas had assumed he was an outsider as he hadn't recognised him but also because of the way the boy had been about to take on Alistair, and now that assumption was all but confirmed. People in this city tended to avoid him and the few that didn't, Ash and Jo for example, didn't initiate conversation and they certainly didn't ask to sit with him. Ash and Jo had become hesitant friends with Cas when the three were grouped together on a class project but even now they wouldn't start a conversation, just waited until Cas spoke to them. Cas was surprised the boy was speaking to him at all although not so much because apparently no one had warned the new-boy not to bother any of the Novak's, but more because after Cas had warned Alistair to back off and Alistair had slunk away, the boy had grunted at Cas that he 'could of handled it' and stalked off without word of thanks. Cas had just assumed the boy didn't want anything to do with him for whatever reason and let it be. Still Cas didn't want to be impolite so he shrugged and shook his head. The boy dumped his lunch tray on the table and fell into the chair opposite Cas. 

“I'm Dean.” the boy offered. There was something in Dean's voice that suggested he was trying to say something else but Cas couldn't figure out what it was.

“Castiel.” Cas replied evenly. Dean raised an eyebrow. 

“Castiel?” he repeated, a hint of amusement in his voice that usually would have had Cas defending his name. However coming from Dean the teasing seemed kind of harmless so he just shrugged. 

“It's not the worst. My brother's name is Balthazar.” Cas replied truthfully and Dean laughed as though Cas had told a hilarious joke, his green eyes sparkling as his body shook with the laughter. Cas watched him curiously, confused as to why he was laughing, which seemed to make Dean laugh more. 

“How come you're all on your own?” he asked through a mouthful of pizza when he'd finally finished laughing. 

“I like being on my own.” Cas answered, a slight defensive tone creeping into his voice. He was used to having to defend his position to his siblings, who were all social people and couldn't understand how Cas could ever want to be by himself. Dean nodded like he'd said something profound as he swallowed another mouthful of pizza. 

“Do you want me to go?” Dean asked. He didn't sound offended and the offer to leave sounded completely genuine which was the only reason Cas could think of for why he replied in the negative. 

“No, that's okay.” he said and Dean's eyes gleamed, pleased. 

Lunch with Dean was surprisingly enjoyable. Dean didn't seem to mind that Cas didn't talk much and did most of the talking himself, telling Cas all about how he liked classic rock (which Cas had guessed from his Metallica tshirt) and how his dad was going to let him have the old impala he drove when Dean passed his driving test. When Dean had exhausted the subjects of classic rock and cars he began telling Cas about his little brother Sam, who Dean seemed to adore. Hearing about Sam reminded Cas how worried he was about his own family, something Dean's chatter had temporarily abated. Cas glanced around the canteen but as far as Cas could see Balthazar still hadn't turned up in the lunch room. Cas felt another trickle of worry and tried to squash it by refocusing on Dean's words. 

“So what about you?” Dean asked eventually after he'd finished telling Cas about how smart Sam was. 

“Me?” Cas asked distractedly. He'd been scanning the canteen for Balthazar again but he focused on Dean again feeling a little guilty for allowing himself to be distracted. 

“Yeah, do you have siblings?” Dean asked. 

“I've got five brothers and a sister.” Cas replied, offering as little information as he could. He liked Dean but he'd been conditioned to be wary of anyone asking information about his family no matter how nice they acted. It'd always been drilled into him that giving away even the smallest details could end up giving someone the tools to harm their family. But he figured the number of siblings he had was safe information. It was pretty much common knowledge around Paradise Falls so Dean would probably find out sooner or later whether Cas told him or not. 

“Wow, big family.” Dean replied sounding slightly awed. 

“Yeah.” Cas replied noncommitedly. He didn't mention he may as well have three siblings as Lucifer had pretty much been disowned and he seldom saw Michael or Raphael anyway even though they all lived in the same house. In fact even Gabriel who was more present in the younger three's lives than Michael or Raphael spent a lot of his time with their elder brothers leaving Anna, Balthazar and Cas to fend for themselves. The three of them had never been able to hold it against Gabriel the same way they were a little resentful of Michael and Raphael's absence in their lives: Gabriel at least tried. 

Dean seemed to be about to ask something else but at that moment Balthazar appeared and sat down next to Dean. Dean stared at him, face betraying his surprise then his shoulders squared defensively at Balthazar's hostile expression. Dean sized up Balthazar and then glared right back at him. Balthazar almost rolled his eyes and turned away from Dean to Cas.

“I need to talk to you. Alone.” Balthazar told Cas. His voice was low and urgent and Cas frowned at him, a little puzzled. When Dean showed no sign of moving Balthazar turned to him with an icy expression. 

“Leave. Now.” Balthazar snapped. Dean's eyebrows arched and his fists bunched like he was considering hitting Balthazar, but then his eyes snapped over to Cas as though asking what Cas wanted and when Cas shrugged apologetically Dean got up and left the two alone.

"I'll see you later." Dean muttered at Cas as he left. He didn't seem too offended which Cas was glad of. He'd enjoyed eating lunch with Dean and it would be nice to have a friend who wasn't scared of him.

“You didn't have to be so mean Balt.” Cas commented a little as soon as Dean was out of earshot. 

“Whatever.” Balthazar replied waving a hand dismissively. “Have you heard what happened last night?” he continued urgently.

“I've heard snatches.” Cas answered hesitantly. “Why what's-”

“There are hunters in town.” Balthazar interrupted. His eyes were wide and scared and Cas drew in a sharp breath. He'd heard horror stories about the Hunters; Anna and Balthazar used to enjoy trying to out-scare each other with tales about what Hunters had done to towns but he'd always thought they'd had been exaggerating. Looking at the fear in Balthazar's eyes Cas was beginning to think maybe that wasn't the case, or at least that they'd believed all the overdramatised stories they'd told each other. 

“Cas they're going to destroy us.” Balthazar whispered. Cas shook his head. 

“They can't. We're peaceful. We don't hurt anyone.” Cas argued desperately. He suddenly realised how much he loved his family, even Michael and Raphael, and how much it would hurt if anything happened. His mind was suddenly filled with images of his family fighting, and losing, against faceless humans who were all baying for his family's blood. 

“They won't care. They didn't care last night.” Cas remembered the cut on Gabriel's cheek and imagined a Hunter going to stab Gabriel, missing and the blow glancing off Gabriel's cheek. Cas felt his blood run cold, terror near paralysing him. He wished Balthazar would tell him this was all some stupid joke but the look in Balthazar's eyes, half fear and half desperation, seemed too real. 

“Balt stop.” Anna commanded. She'd come over without either of them realising and now she took the seat Dean had left empty. 

“What happened last night?” Cas asked, needing to know the truth, the whole truth not just his own deductions, about what had happened. Anna and Balt glanced at each other and Cas felt a rush of frustration. 

“I'm not a baby.” Cas insisted venomously, “I'm only one year younger than Balthazar and I won't be the only person in this family who doesn't know what's going on.” Anna glanced at Balthazar again and Balthazar shrugged. 

“The Hunters carried out their first attack last night.” Anna told him softly. “Quite a few of ours are dead or injured.” All three were silent for a moment while that sunk in. 

“That's not all.” Balthazar said miserably. Anna looked at him, frowning. 

“What do you mean? I haven't heard anything else.”

“Michael and Raphael were gossiping about some kind of symbol this morning. Michael seemed to think it was trouble but it didn't sound connected to the Hunters.” Anna frowned, looking at him reproachfully. 

“And how would you know that?” Anna asked. 

“I was listening in at the door.” Balthazar admitted, “Oh don't start. I had to, they never tell us anything and I'm sick of not knowing what's going on.” Anna glowered at him but bit back the lecture about listening in on the Family business she clearly wanted to give. 

“That's why you didn't want to go to school?” she guessed. “You wanted to stay home and see if you could find anything else out?” Balthazar shrugged but he didn't deny it. Anna bit her lip, a worried a habit of hers. 

“We'll just have to get Gabriel to tell us what's going on when we get home.” Anna said, “We can't be kept in the dark about this. Gabriel will have to tell us.”

“Presuming he hasn't killed himself in a car accident.” Balthazar muttered, shoulders hunching. Anna's eyes widened and Cas felt a stab of fear at the thought of returning home only to be told Gabriel was dead. 

“Balt I'm sure Gabriel is just-” the bell rang interrupting Anna before she could say the word 'fine'. Batlhazar got up and stalked away to class before Anna could finish her sentence. Anna sighed getting up too. 

“I'll see you out front after school.” she told Cas. “Joshua texted me to tell me he'd pick us up.” Cas nodded and Anna took her leave. Cas stood slowly, mulling over everything his siblings had told him. 

“Is everything alright?” a voice asked. Cas turned to see Dean a little way away. He was watching Cas with concerned eyes. 

“Fine.” Cas managed to say weakly. “Everything's fine.”  
Cas wasn't having a good day. He should have known that the day wasn't going to go well from the very start but he'd held onto the foolish hope that things might improve. It was now lunchtime and things had yet to look up. He was sitting on his own, at a table in the corner. No one came near him, which Cas knew was less because he himself was threatening and more because every person at his school knew his Family's reputation. Usually Cas ate lunch with Samandriel, one of his cousins, or sometimes with Jo and Ash but today Samandriel hadn't appeared in the lunch room and Jo and Ash were sitting together on a table in the middle of the lunch hall with a group of people Cas knew were in his year but didn't know all that well. He could see Anna sitting with her friends and she gave him a worried glance. He just smiled back. He didn't really mind being on his own, it was peaceful in ways that sitting with others often wasn't. 

And today he needed time to think. He was worried. Rumours had been circulating the school all morning about an attack on the town the previous night. He'd yet to hear the full story: people usually stopped talking about it the second they realised he was within earshot and moved away shooting him furtive glances to continue their conversation elsewhere. Usually he didn't mind people avoiding him: he recognised that if he were in their position he'd attempt to avoid all contact with Family members too. But today it annoyed him a little. He was desperate to know what had happened especially as he'd deduced the events of the previous night probably had something to do with Inais' hospital visit and Gabriel's out of character behaviour. 

Gabriel and Inais were the source of a lot of his consternation. He hadn't been able to ask either of his siblings about Inais as he hadn't seen either of them since Gabriel had dropped them off at school; Anna had just been shooting him glances from afar as she gossiped with her friends and he hadn't been able to find Balthazar during the morning break, nor could he see him in the canteen now. Balthazar was another source of worry. He hadn't been right even before he'd seen how pale Gabriel was and the cut on Gabriel's cheek but seeing Gabriel he'd become even worse: distant and moody. Gabriel was Balthazar's favourite brother; Balthazar near worshiped Gabriel even when Gabriel teased him or made Balthazar's life hard just for the fun of it, and so Cas could understand Balthazar being worried. But there must be something else going on. Gabriel had been hurt before, several times and the majority of those times it was worse than a cut on the cheek, and yet Balthazar had never reacted this badly before. He'd been a little clingy maybe and he'd been openly worried, but he'd never shut down in the way he had that morning. 

“Is anyone sitting here?” an unfamiliar voice asked. Cas looked up from the pasta he'd been playing with but barely eaten, to see the green eyed stranger he'd had to rescue from Alistair that morning. Cas had assumed he was an outsider as he hadn't recognised him but also because of the way the boy had been about to take on Alistair, and now that assumption was all but confirmed. People in this city tended to avoid him and the few that didn't, Ash and Jo for example, didn't initiate conversation and they certainly didn't ask to sit with him. Ash and Jo had become hesitant friends with Cas when the three were grouped together on a class project but even now they wouldn't start a conversation, just waited until Cas spoke to them. Cas was surprised the boy was speaking to him at all although not so much because apparently no one had warned the new-boy not to bother any of the Novak's, but more because after Cas had warned Alistair to back off and Alistair had slunk away, the boy had grunted at Cas that he 'could of handled it' and stalked off without word of thanks. Cas had just assumed the boy didn't want anything to do with him for whatever reason and let it be. Still Cas didn't want to be impolite so he shrugged and shook his head. The boy dumped his lunch tray on the table and fell into the chair opposite Cas. 

“I'm Dean.” the boy offered. There was something in Dean's voice that suggested he was trying to say something else but Cas couldn't figure out what it was.

“Castiel.” Cas replied evenly. Dean raised an eyebrow. 

“Castiel?” he repeated, a hint of amusement in his voice that usually would have had Cas defending his name. However coming from Dean the teasing seemed kind of harmless so he just shrugged. 

“It's not the worst. My brother's name is Balthazar.” Cas replied truthfully and Dean laughed as though Cas had told a hilarious joke, his green eyes sparkling as his body shook with the laughter. Cas watched him curiously, confused as to why he was laughing, which seemed to make Dean laugh more. 

“How come you're all on your own?” he asked through a mouthful of pizza when he'd finally finished laughing. 

“I like being on my own.” Cas answered, a slight defensive tone creeping into his voice. He was used to having to defend his position to his siblings, who were all social people and couldn't understand how Cas could ever want to be by himself. Dean nodded like he'd said something profound as he swallowed another mouthful of pizza. 

“Do you want me to go?” Dean asked. He didn't sound offended and the offer to leave sounded completely genuine which was the only reason Cas could think of for why he replied in the negative. 

“No, that's okay.” he said and Dean's eyes gleamed, pleased. 

Lunch with Dean was surprisingly enjoyable. Dean didn't seem to mind that Cas didn't talk much and did most of the talking himself, telling Cas all about how he liked classic rock (which Cas had guessed from his Metallica tshirt) and how his dad was going to let him have the old impala he drove when Dean passed his driving test. When Dean had exhausted the subjects of classic rock and cars he began telling Cas about his little brother Sam, who Dean seemed to adore. Hearing about Sam reminded Cas how worried he was about his own family, something Dean's chatter had temporarily abated. Cas glanced around the canteen but as far as Cas could see Balthazar still hadn't turned up in the lunch room. Cas felt another trickle of worry and tried to squash it by refocusing on Dean's words. 

“So what about you?” Dean asked eventually after he'd finished telling Cas about how smart Sam was. 

“Me?” Cas asked distractedly. He'd been scanning the canteen for Balthazar again but he focused on Dean again feeling a little guilty for allowing himself to be distracted. 

“Yeah, do you have siblings?” Dean asked. 

“I've got five brothers and a sister.” Cas replied, offering as little information as he could. He liked Dean but he'd been conditioned to be wary of anyone asking information about his family no matter how nice they acted. It'd always been drilled into him that giving away even the smallest details could end up giving someone the tools to harm their family. But he figured the number of siblings he had was safe information. It was pretty much common knowledge around Paradise Falls so Dean would probably find out sooner or later whether Cas told him or not. 

“Wow, big family.” Dean replied sounding slightly awed. 

“Yeah.” Cas replied noncommitedly. He didn't mention he may as well have three siblings as Lucifer had pretty much been disowned and he seldom saw Michael or Raphael anyway even though they all lived in the same house. In fact even Gabriel who was more present in the younger three's lives than Michael or Raphael spent a lot of his time with their elder brothers leaving Anna, Balthazar and Cas to fend for themselves. The three of them had never been able to hold it against Gabriel the same way they were a little resentful of Michael and Raphael's absence in their lives: Gabriel at least tried. 

Dean seemed to be about to ask something else but at that moment Balthazar appeared and sat down next to Dean. Dean stared at him, face betraying his surprise then his shoulders squared defensively at Balthazar's hostile expression. Dean sized up Balthazar and then glared right back at him. Balthazar almost rolled his eyes and turned away from Dean to Cas.

“I need to talk to you. Alone.” Balthazar told Cas. His voice was low and urgent and Cas frowned at him, a little puzzled. When Dean showed no sign of moving Balthazar turned to him with an icy expression. 

“Leave. Now.” Balthazar snapped. Dean's eyebrows arched and his fists bunched like he was considering hitting Balthazar, but then his eyes snapped over to Cas as though asking what Cas wanted and when Cas shrugged apologetically Dean got up and left the two alone.

"I'll see you later." Dean muttered at Cas as he left. He didn't seem too offended which Cas was glad of. He'd enjoyed eating lunch with Dean and it would be nice to have a friend who wasn't scared of him.

“You didn't have to be so mean Balt.” Cas commented a little as soon as Dean was out of earshot. 

“Whatever.” Balthazar replied waving a hand dismissively. “Have you heard what happened last night?” he continued urgently.

“I've heard snatches.” Cas answered hesitantly. “Why what's-”

“There are hunters in town.” Balthazar interrupted. His eyes were wide and scared and Cas drew in a sharp breath. He'd heard horror stories about the Hunters; Anna and Balthazar used to enjoy trying to out-scare each other with tales about what Hunters had done to towns but he'd always thought they'd had been exaggerating. Looking at the fear in Balthazar's eyes Cas was beginning to think maybe that wasn't the case, or at least that they'd believed all the overdramatised stories they'd told each other. 

“Cas they're going to destroy us.” Balthazar whispered. Cas shook his head. 

“They can't. We're peaceful. We don't hurt anyone.” Cas argued desperately. He suddenly realised how much he loved his family, even Michael and Raphael, and how much it would hurt if anything happened. His mind was suddenly filled with images of his family fighting, and losing, against faceless humans who were all baying for his family's blood. 

“They won't care. They didn't care last night.” Cas remembered the cut on Gabriel's cheek and imagined a Hunter going to stab Gabriel, missing and the blow glancing off Gabriel's cheek. Cas felt his blood run cold, terror near paralysing him. He wished Balthazar would tell him this was all some stupid joke but the look in Balthazar's eyes, half fear and half desperation, seemed too real. 

“Balt stop.” Anna commanded. She'd come over without either of them realising and now she took the seat Dean had left empty. 

“What happened last night?” Cas asked, needing to know the truth, the whole truth not just his own deductions, about what had happened. Anna and Balt glanced at each other and Cas felt a rush of frustration. 

“I'm not a baby.” Cas insisted venomously, “I'm only one year younger than Balthazar and I won't be the only person in this family who doesn't know what's going on.” Anna glanced at Balthazar again and Balthazar shrugged. 

“The Hunters carried out their first attack last night.” Anna told him softly. “Quite a few of ours are dead or injured.” All three were silent for a moment while that sunk in. 

“That's not all.” Balthazar said miserably. Anna looked at him, frowning. 

“What do you mean? I haven't heard anything else.”

“Michael and Raphael were gossiping about some kind of symbol this morning. Michael seemed to think it was trouble but it didn't sound connected to the Hunters.” Anna frowned, looking at him reproachfully. 

“And how would you know that?” Anna asked. 

“I was listening in at the door.” Balthazar admitted, “Oh don't start. I had to, they never tell us anything and I'm sick of not knowing what's going on.” Anna glowered at him but bit back the lecture about listening in on the Family business she clearly wanted to give. 

“That's why you didn't want to go to school?” she guessed. “You wanted to stay home and see if you could find anything else out?” Balthazar shrugged but he didn't deny it. Anna bit her lip, a worried a habit of hers. 

“We'll just have to get Gabriel to tell us what's going on when we get home.” Anna said, “We can't be kept in the dark about this. Gabriel will have to tell us.”

“Presuming he hasn't killed himself in a car accident.” Balthazar muttered, shoulders hunching. Anna's eyes widened and Cas felt a stab of fear at the thought of returning home only to be told Gabriel was dead. 

“Balt I'm sure Gabriel is just-” the bell rang interrupting Anna before she could say the word 'fine'. Batlhazar got up and stalked away to class before Anna could finish her sentence. Anna sighed getting up too. 

“I'll see you out front after school.” she told Cas. “Joshua texted me to tell me he'd pick us up.” Cas nodded and Anna took her leave. Cas stood slowly, mulling over everything his siblings had told him. 

“Is everything alright?” a voice asked. Cas turned to see Dean a little way away. He was watching Cas with concerned eyes. 

“Fine.” Cas managed to say weakly. “Everything's fine.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at these summary things. The doctor arrives for Gabriel?

The doctor had been kneeling next to Gabriel fussing over him for at least five minutes now and Michael was growing impatient. 

“What's wrong with him?” he demanded, forcing his voice to remain even and neutral. Doctor Chambers stood up shaking his head. 

“Mr Novak, sir, I really think it would be better if I could take Gabriel to a hospital.” Michael felt a rush of panic, memories of sterile white rooms, the overpowering smell of disinfectant and the gentle beep of machinery rising up out of the depths of his mind where Michael had shoved them. 

“I'd prefer it if he remained here.” Michael answered holding the man's gaze. The doctor shook his head again. 

“I've been unable to learn much. Remind me what symptoms you said he presented.” 

“He seemed disorientated. He speech was a little slurred. Ellen mentioned he'd been drinking a lot of water.” Joshua replied from his position near the door.

“His pupils are very dilated. That and the list of the symptoms you've given me could suggest a head injury. I couldn't feel any lumps on his head but that doesn't necessarily mean a head injury isn't present. When did the symptoms start?” 

“He seemed tired yesterday and I noticed his pupils were dilated. He didn't seem disorientated though his movements were slower than normal.” Michael answered. 

“Mr Novak, I'm really going to have to insist that Gabriel is taken to be checked over thoroughly. He's in quite a serious condition and -” 

“If you could give us a minute Doctor?” Joshua asked, interrupting the doctor. Doctor Chambers nodded.

“I'll wait outside.” 

Joshua waited until the doctor had left the room before walking over to where Michael was standing staring at Gabriel, hands unconsciously curled into loose fists. 

“Michael I know you don't like hospitals and I know your scared that what happened to your mother will happen to your brother.” Michael flicked his eyes the Joshua, green irises turning steely as his expression hardened. Joshua held up a hand pre-emptively stopping Michael speaking.

“I know you are trying to protect him Michael but I think you're probably doing more harm than good keeping him here.” 

“I know.” Michael whispered. “I know but-”

“No buts Michael Novak. Gabriel needs a hospital and you need to let him go.” Michael drew himself up, preparing to argue but then his eyes slid over to his little brother who was lying so still, asleep or unconscious and he felt his resolve waver. He swallowed, taking a deep breath. 

“I- ” he was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door. He frowned but composed himself. 

“Enter.” he said loudly. Ion, who had been standing guard outside the door entered the room smartly. 

“Phone call for you sir.” he said, trying to stop his eyes from sliding to the sofa where Gabriel was lying and not doing a very good job of it. 

“Tell them to call back.” Michael snapped. 

“With all due respect sir, Raphael told me you'll want to take this one.” Ion answered, staring at the ground to avoid Michael's glower. 

“Fine. I'll be up shortly.” Ion nodded and with a final side glance at Gabriel, left the room. Michael stared at Gabriel, torn between his unwillingness to leave his younger brother and his duty. Eventually he came to a decision, the hardest one he could remember making since he'd had to chose between Lucifer and his father's last request. 

“Joshua you're in charge of Gabriel's welfare.” he swallowed, before forcing himself to continue “Do as you feel best. Just don't let them -” Joshua smiled softly. 

“It's okay Michael.” Michael nodded and left the room quickly before he could change his mind. Ion, who was still standing outside the door with Doctor Chambers, nodded to Michael as Michael passed. Michael stormed up the stairs to his office, nearly slamming his office door shut behind him. Raphael was in the room staring at the receiver which lay on the desk with an expression of complete shock. As Michael sat down and reached for the receiver Raphael took his leave.

***

“Yes?” he asked, irritation seeping into the short word. 

“Michael.” a smooth voice replied sounding amused at his fury. Michael froze at the voice, distorted by the telephone but still so familiar. 

“Lucifer?” 

The voice laughed softly, mockingly. 

“Don't tell me it's been so long you'd forgotten your own brother's voice?” Lucifer asked, amusement even more apparent in his voice now. 

“You were -” Michael began, trying not to stumble over his words. Hearing his brother's voice after all this time felt like being punched in the gut. 

“Locked up? Yes I realise. I never thanked you for that did I?” Lucifer's voice had taken on a harsh edge now, and Michael felt a thrill of fear mixed with anger. He remembered the snake that Lucifer had sent him and shivered again unconsciously as he began to realise just how angry Lucifer was with him. 

“It's what father asked of me and it was the right thing to do.” Michael responded, his tone taking on a steel edge to match his brothers. Lucifer chuckled but he no longer sounded amused. 

“Is that what you tell yourself? I wondered how you slept at night. You betrayed your own brother Michael. How could -”

“How could I?” Michael spat, “You left me little choice Lucifer.” 

“You had a choice Michael, don't pretend for a minute that you didn't. Anyway that's all ancient history now. I'm here to talk about now.” 

“Stop. Whatever it is you are planning I don't want to hear it. Just stop.” Michael realised he was crushing his nails into his palm and he unclenched his fist. 

“All I want is for everything to go back to how it used to be. And that can't happen while you're still all hung up on obeying dad. He left us Michael, you don't have to do what he wants anymore, you don't have to protect this place. Just give it up, the city, following dad's orders all of it. Give it up and we can go back, we could be brothers again.” 

Michael would never admit to himself just how tempting Lucifer's words were. If he surrendered he would no longer have to worry about protecting his siblings and the Family from the Hunters. He wouldn't have to worry about Lucifer destroying his city, because Lucifer would be his brother again, not his enemy. They'd be a family: Lucifer would be back and he wouldn't have to keep his siblings at a distance in an attempt to keep them safe. But no matter how much Michael longed for that life, a simple life where he wasn't responsible for so many lives and so much death, he couldn't have it. Lucifer wanted to go back, to have things the way they were before but Michael knew that could never happen. Too much had happened since, they wouldn't be able to repeat the past no matter how much they tried. Besides their father had intrusted the Family to Michael and he expected Michael to do his best to preserve the city.

“I can't Lucifer.” Michael replied quietly. “You know I can't.”

“I thought as much. But you know the Hunters are here. They'll destroy you and the others. You're doomed one way or the other. You should walk away now.” 

“No. I won't. I can't. Father made this city what it is and I'd die to protect it.” Michael answered determinately, trying to act as though his chest didn't get tighter at the thought. He'd been worrying constantly about the Hunters hurting his siblings since he'd first heard they were in town. It was the one thing that truly scared him, more than the city falling apart, more than his own death. 

“I thought that might be your answer. Well in that case I'll just have to take you down myself. I promise to be gentle, far gentler than the Hunters are going to be. And if I destroy you myself there'll be nothing left for the Hunters to do. I'm doing you a kindness. After all the Hunters care about all those run of the mill people whereas I only want you and the others safe. Unless you've changed your mind and are willing to walk away from it all?” 

“Lucifer I've already told you no. Stop playing these games. If you cared that much about us you'd be helping us fight the Hunters not using them as a threat.” 

“Have it your way. Let's see you control a town that's sick with disease and drugs and violence.” 

“What are you planning?” Michael asked, not really expecting an answer. He was beginning to guess what Lucifer might be getting at, what the grand plan might be but he hadn't wanted to believe his sibling would go this far

“I have this friend. He's got his own company.” Lucifer began conversationally, “Calls it Pestilence Inc which is wonderfully dramatic don't you think?” Lucifer paused like he was waiting for Michael to reply but Michael kept silent. 

“Well he specialises in biological warfare. Diseases and all that. Well he's made me a brand new drug. Calls it Croatoan. Apparently it's wonderfully addictive, like heroin and cocaine combined. Unfortunately each time you need a little more of the drug to get the same high, he explained why but I've always hated biology. So people need more and more of the drug but I'm afraid that as the demand goes up our supply will begin to run out. Prices will become higher, and people will turn to crime to get their hands on enough money to get their next hit of Croatoan. Incidentally did I mention how one of the rather nasty side effects of Croatoan withdrawal is increased aggression? People will literally be fighting each other off to get their hands on my new drug. Do you see where I'm going with this? How much protection can you offer people from themselves Michael? When the crime rates are soaring and everyone is a drug addict, when dad's near perfect city is completely destroyed then you'll have to give up. ” 

Michael listened to Lucifer with a slowly sinking heart. Lucifer had always hated Paradise Falls, the city their father had given so much of his time to. He'd tried to destroy the Family's reputation before, the incident with the snake symbol that had led to Michael turning his younger brother over to the police. But Michael had never imagined he'd actually try to destroy the town. Not in the way Lucifer was describing now. Lucifer may be many things but he truly loved their father and Michael had thought that would be enough to encourage Lucifer to leave Paradise Falls alone. 

“That won't work if no one take Croatoan to begin with.” Michael retorted, “And I won't let you sell that drug.” 

“I won't be selling the drug to begin with, brother dear.” Lucifer responded with a light laugh. “I'll be offering it for free. It's got some ingredients that make it a perfect antidote to Belladonna poisoning.” 

“Poisoning?” Michael asked. Dread crawled like ice through his veins. 

“Yes poisoning. Belladonna poison. I'm told the first Belladonna victim should be arriving at the hospital any minute now for their first dose of Croatoan.” Michael's mind was racing, trying to find a way to stop Lucifer's plan before it could run it's course. He was vaguely aware that Lucifer was still talking in a voice smooth and golden as honey, and overflowing with smugness.

“Did you know another name for Belladonna is Devil's Cherries. I think there's something rather lovely about that. Or that women used to put Belladonna in their eyes to dilate their pupils because that was supposedly beautiful. That's how it got it's name.” Michael reached for a pad of paper and began scrawling a note for Raphael to contact the hospital and warn them not to give out any new drugs to patients, especially drugs that could counteract Belladonna poisoning. Suddenly a part of Lucifer's babble registered with him.

“What?” he asked. The single word was deadly and precise and it cut Lucifer's smug gloating off instantly. 

“What did you say? About the pupils?” Michael asked, voice calm and icy. 

“I said people used to put it in their eyes to make their pupils dilate.” Lucifer responded hesitantly, the sudden change in Michael making him wary. 

“Gabriel.” 

“What about Gabriel?” Lucifer asked, still sounded wary. 

“You poisoned Gabriel?” Michael asked incredulously, “You poisoned your own brother.” he spat. There was a beat of silence. 

"I don't follow." Lucifer replied and Michael had to give his acting abilities credit, he did sound confused.

"You chose Gabriel as the first victim?" Michael demanded, slightly more shrilly than he'd intended. 

“No, Michael I-” Lucifer began defensively.

“Oh don't lie, not now. When did you do it? Last night when he was out trying to save our Family from the Hunters?” Michael snarled, fury radiating from him. He stormed over to his office door, wrenching it open. As he'd suspected Raphael was waiting in the hall. He looked at Michael, confused and concerned but Michael shoved the note he'd written into Raphael's hand and then slammed the door shut again. 

“Michael no, not Briel.” 

“Then who?” Michael demanded. 

“I don't know. It wasn't supposed to be Gabriel. I told him to poison someone, someone close to you but I didn't expect - You're lying. You must be lying.” Lucifer's voice was uncertain as he stumbled over his words. Michael was tempted to believe Lucifer, if only because he didn't want to accept that Lucifer would poison Gabriel. But he still couldn't ignore the fact that even if what Lucifer was saying was true, his younger brother had told some spy of his to poison someone close to Michael. And that hurt badly enough, a stab in the back with an ice cold knife. That Lucifer would do this would have hurt on its own, but the thought that someone close to Michael had betrayed him, choosing to side with Lucifer and willingly poisoning Gabriel was even worse. It only confirmed his theory that showing any kind of affection towards his siblings got them hurt and Michael realised that if he hadn't seemed close to Gabriel, Gabriel wouldn't be dying downstairs. Guilt began to mix with the anger and he swore to himself that he'd find Lucifer's spy and punish them for hurting Gabriel. 

“You told who to poison someone close to me.” Michael asked viciously. 

“Michael is Briel...?” Lucifer asked desperately, ignoring Michael's question. The concern in Lucifer's voice sounded real but it did nothing to lessen the cold anger that had descended over Michael.

“If he dies this is on you Lucifer.” Michael spat furiously and slammed the phone down.


End file.
